Rochester resident Jose Rivera, 20, wants to be a better role model.

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In a city with one of the lowest graduation rates for black male students in the country, those young men are often condemned to lives of poverty and hardship before they reach adulthood.

Now, a new effort aims to give those men a second chance to improve their lives. Operation Transformation will provide assistance to help young black men earn a high school equivalency degree and complete job training. The effort, which started last month, has already drawn about 120 people.

Rescuing Rochester's Children series: Three paths for young black men ...